'Shetland' Season 9 Sets December Premiere Date

The year 2024 is drawing to a close (thank heavens), and this is a busy time for streaming services; many compete in the awards season derby that kicks off after New Year's. But for a service like BritBox, there's no uptick or downtick since debuts mainly depend on contracted exclusivity windows with British networks. BritBox merely debuts things when they arrive and lets the chips fall where they may. It's not like awards voters pay them much mind, and most of its British programming is more concerned with the BAFTAs than the Golden Globes. So while HBO is dropping Dune: Prophecy and Apple TV+ just finished Disclaimer, BritBox happily gives us cozy mysteries like Shetland Season 9.

Originally, Shetland was based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves (same as Vera), adapted by David Kane for television, and starring Douglas Henshall as the books' detective, DI Jimmy Pérez. But after seven seasons, Henshall decided he was done doing episodic mystery series, and the production was forced to find a new lead or end the show. Perhaps, had the show been called Pérez, it wouldn't have been a choice. Luckily, the show was named for the area, not the lead character, so the BBC just recast, bringing aboard Agatha Raisin's Ashley Jensen in Season 8 as new lead DI Ruth Calder.

Jensen's arrival has reinvigorated the series, which was starting to flag, and changed the dynamics of the station entirely. The most significant change has been for Pérez's sidekick, DS Alison McIntosh (Alison O'Donnell), who suddenly found herself on more equal footing with a boss that she gelled far more than O'Donnell ever did with Henshall. Season 9 will see the two become closer and lean on each other more, as some of the things Tosh has been keeping secret are about to come out.

Here's the Season 9 synopsis:

A double missing person’s case blurs the lines between the personal and the professional, as Calder and Tosh are drawn into a labyrinthine investigation. When Tosh’s friend, Annie Bett, goes missing she suspects something is seriously wrong. Ruth Calder - now living in Shetland - has no time to recover from a life-threatening ordeal of her own, as together they set out in search of Annie and her young son, Noah. They discover accountant Annie is estranged from her husband, Ian, and has been staying with mussel farmer John Harris and his two sons, Patrick and Fergus. Worryingly, there’s no sign of Annie there either.

Calder follows Tosh’s instincts and looks for Annie at the home she shared with Ian. There, they discover Professor Euan Rossi who claims to have been Annie’s Oxford University tutor many years ago. Suspicions are stirred when Tosh and Calder learn Rossi traveled all the way to Shetland after Annie left him a distressed voicemail the night she vanished. Calder can’t shake the feeling there’s more to Rossi than meets the eye.

Meanwhile, at the station, Calder delves deeper into another case involving a deadly argument between two brothers. The missing persons investigation draws Tosh and Calder into a web of lies and when a bloodied person turns up at a remote garage, nothing can prepare the team for what lies ahead.

Jensen and O’Donnell return as DI Ruth Calder and DS Alison “Tosh” McIntosh, with series regulars Steven Robertson (The Bay) as DC Sandy Wilson, Lewis Howden (Annika) as PS Billy McBride, and Anne Kidd (Outlander) as Dr. Cora McLean. Angus Miller (Guilt) returns as Tosh's boyfriend, Donnie Russell, and Steven Miller (Payback), who was recurring last season, gets promoted to the main cast as Ruth's brother, Rev. Alan Calder. Other recurring cast that will be back for Season 9 include Conor McCarry (Time), Eubha Akilade (The Diplomat), and Tibu Fortes (Sister Boniface Mysteries).

Guest stars for Season 9 include Ian Hart (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) as Euan Rossi, Vincent Regan (Luther: The Fallen Sun), Ross Anderson (My Mother & Other Strangers) & Macleod Stephen (Granite Harbor) as the Harris family, and Sarah MacGillivray (The Lost King), Robert Jack (Lockerbie) & newcomer Jacob Ferguson as the Bett family. Other guest stars for this season will include Stuart Campbell (Rogue Heroes), Richard Thomson (This Is Going to Hurt), Gemma McElhinney (Karen Pirie), Andrew John Tait (Rebus), Tara Lee (The Suspect), Jimmy Yuill (Young James Harriot), Nalini Chetty (Six-Four), Lesley Hart (Taggart), and newcomer Leeroy Boone.

Paul Logue and Denise Paul who wrote Season 8, once again penned all episodes, and directors Andrew Cumming and Ruth Paxton split helming duties with Louise V Say producing. Logue and Paul are executive producers, along with Gaynor Holmes and Kate Bartlett.

Shetland Season 9 will premiere on BritBox on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, and follow a weekly episode schedule through January 15, 2025.